Naruto: Beast Sword Chronicles
by whitedragonsolider
Summary: Naruto has returned from his training a whole new man, and as events unfold he discovers his heritage as well as another ancient power sleeping within him. He will not face this destiny alone however for he has found compaionship in the eyes of Hinata.
1. The Return

Chapter one: The Return

Chapter one: The Return

The man walked purposefully through a lush green forest to the spot where he knew he would find his student of the past two and a half years. He came to a stop in a relatively large clearing, and was momentarily transfixed by its pristine beauty. He was greeted by the sight of his pupil, who seemed to be meditating, surrounded by close to three hundred shinobi armed with all manner of weapon. The air was heavy with silence except for the occasional rattle of weapons. The deadly silence was abruptly broken by a unified bellow as all three hundred plus enemies sprung on his young charge. The older man however did not move to aid his protégé, he simply watched with interest waiting to see what would happen next. With his adversaries all but on top of him the young man's eyes snapped open, and with his own mighty roar he released the invisible force that had been building within him.

Pride was evident on the older man's face as he watched all of the clones disappear simultaneously in one giant puff of white smoke. However pride quickly turned to surprise as he too was hit by the invisible pulse as it pushed him back quite forcefully into a tree, and then continued to rattle the rest of the forest. _ He just used an incredibly strong pulse of chakra; it's hard to believe it was enough to knock even me back,_ he thought.

Quickly schooling his features he plastered on a grin, and made his way toward the young blonde. When he was within range he called out "Naruto come on kid we're going out to celebrate."

Curiosity was obviously present in his voice when he asked "Celebrate what ero-senin?"

The smile on Jiriaya's face only widened as he uttered his next words "As of right now your training with me is complete. We depart tomorrow,"

"Depart, you mean…?"

"Yup, we're going home!"

"Alright!" came Naruto's jubilant reply

Early the next morning the duo set out at a brisk pace. "Naruto, slow down, have sympathy on my old bones, and aching head," Jiriaya called feebly to Naruto who was several yards ahead moving at breakneck speed to get back to the village as soon as possible.

"Hey, it's not my fault you spent the night getting drunk on sake and flirting with women twenty years younger than you are," said Naruto as he slowed down so that he was only a few feet ahead.

As he watched him run, Jiriaya could not help but smile at how much his pupil had changes over the years. No longer was the loud, hotheaded, cocky, clumsy boy that he was when they first met. He had grown into a true shinobi; cool and calculating in battle, he thought things through, and used his brains as well as his brawn. His skills had improved greatly, he had mastered as well as created many jutsu, in addition his skills with gen-jutsu and tia-jutsu had improved to a level that could rival even the strongest ninja. His speed and agility had also increased by leaps and bounds. In addition to all of those changes his speech volume and style of dress had also become much more reserved.

Even though he had changed, it was still undeniable that Naruto had still remained very much the same. Courage still shone brightly in his eyes as did his fierce determination. Years had gone by, but his resolve to protect the people whom he considered precious had not wavered, if anything it had become even stronger over the years.

Jiriaya was brought returned to reality by the sound of Naruto's voice, "Ero-senin we're almost there, I can see the village on the horizon!" He exclaimed.

"When we arrive I want you to go straight to the Tsunade's office and make your report," said Jiriaya said as they approached the village gates


	2. New Missions old Faces

Chapter two:

Chapter two:

Sleep was slowly beginning to overcome Tsunade as she sat alone in her office. "Tsunade-sama I have good news," said shizune as she entered the room obliterating any chance that she might have had at falling asleep.

"What is Shizune?" she asked with hope building in her heart as her thoughts drifted to a certain blonde shinobi.

"You can stop pretending to work, you have a visitor," came the young woman's reply.

"Send them in then," was Tsunade's response as hope died in her heart. The Hokage watched with little interest as a young man of about sixteen stepped into her office.

He stood at about 6"2', and had blonde hair. He was clad in a black, knee length, sleeveless trench coat, which he wore open. Under the coat, he wore a sleeveless navy blue muscle shirt which seemed to be made of a very thick and heavy material. Each hand was clad in black fingerless gloves. His pants were somewhat baggy and all black except for a navy blue stripe down each leg, and his shoes were black and close toed unlike the sandals that most people wore.

"It's good to see you again granny;" said the young man as he came to a stop in front of her desk. A rage born pain filled Hokage's eyes as she hurled her large chair at the young man. Very calmly he sideways to avoid the improvised projectile, with seemingly no effort he caught it out if mid-air and set it down behind him.

"How dare you call me that, only he can call me that." She bellowed while tears streamed down her face. Blinded by her anguish, leaped over her desk, and aimed a punch at him with out any regard for her monstrous strength. A split second before the blow connected he flickered out of existence, reappeared behind the engaged hokage.

"What's the matter granny, you going blind, I'm over here," Stated the young blonde casually.

"Shut up!" she screamed, her voice coming out as a choked sob. Wildly she rounded on him with another powerful punch, which he dodged easily.

"Come on granny you can do better than that," he said.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" She sobbed letting lose a flurry of lefts and rights.

"You really don't know who I am, do you granny?" he asked.

"Stop it!" she pleaded throwing one final punch.

All joking was gone from the young man's eyes as he with a single hand caught Tsunade's punch. With alarming speed he spun her around, and pinned her in her chair, holding there with a hand on her sternum. Despite her best efforts Tsunade was not able to free herself from his grip.

"What's wrong with you granny, don't you recognize me, don't you recognize this?" he implored pulling a small green stone on the end of a chain from its hiding place under his shirt.

Realization hit her hard as she starred at the green gem on the end of the chain. Slowly, with great effort she lifted her head, which suddenly weighed ten tons. When she finally completed her arduous task she was greeted by the sight of clear blue eyes. They were different somehow, but she knew those eyes could only belong to one person.

"N-N-Naruto, is it really you?" she stammered in disbelief.

"Yeah granny it's me, I'm back," he replied.

The frantic voice of shizune called behind the large double doors, "Tsunade-sama is everything alright I'm coming in okay," she said throwing the doors open and entering with a very distressed air about her. The sight before her was surprising and confusing; her beloved teacher was pinned to her chair by a man with one hand on her chest and her fist in the other.

Although Shizune was already quite perplexed her state of befuddlement was only heightened as she watched what happened next. Getting to her feet Tsunade carefully untied the young man's headband, and gently almost as if she was afraid he would disappear, she kissed his forehead.

"You've grown," she whispered in a barely audible tone.

"Yeah, even I can't stay little forever," he said.

Shizune's confusion had grown into frustration, and she decided to make it known. "What the hell is going on here!" she yelled. Instead of an answer she received a look from Tsunade that seemed to say to ask what you are talking about. "Oh no, don't you look at me like that, you were just screaming at him and trying to kill him, and now your kissing him I want some answers damn it," she said, her face flush from yelling.

Quicker than Shizune's eyes could follow, the young man appeared in front of her. The cold look in the eyes, and the iciness of his voice caused her to shiver involuntarily. "How dare you not recognize the future hokage of this village," he snapped. Suddenly, his demeanor changed entirely as he flashed a familiar foxy grin. As if by magic she knew exactly who she was talking to, and threw her arms around him in an embrace.

"Naruto, I've missed you, it's good to see you again!" she exclaimed giving him a quick once over.

"Shizune, the key go and get it please," Tsunade asked.

"Yes of course," she said exiting the room with a slight spring in her step. Moments later she returned, and handed a house key to Tsunade.

Scribbling something on a piece of paper, she handed both the key and the paper to Naruto.

"These are the key and address to your house, all of your things have already moved there, head on over and get situated Kakashi will be waiting when you arrive," she said. Sensing his confusion she interjected before he could voice it. "Please don't ask any questions, because I can't give you any answers yet," she explained. Nodding his head, although still obviously confused he turned and left.

A million questions raced through Naruto's mind as left the hokage's; however, the storm in his mind was quickly quieted as he stepped into the mid-day sunlight. Staring at the address on the piece of paper he resolved to focus on his new home for the moment, and ask questions later. With that in mind he set out to find his new home.

Frustration was beginning to creep its way into Naruto's mind as he continued his search this new house. He had checked every residential area in the entire village, and still had not found house. Just when he was about to give up he tripped over what he guessed was someone's foot.

Righting himself in mid-air, and lading nimbly on his feet he turned to face person who he tripped over. Expecting an angry villager he was surprised to come face to perverted book with none other than Hatake Kakashi. His one visible eye never leaving his book he addressed Naruto very casually. "Hey Naruto, it's been a while how are you," he asked putting away his infamous little orange book.

"Nice to see you again Kakashi-sensei, and I'm doing really well thanks," came his cheerful relpy.

"You've gotten taller, and I trust you've grown in strength as well,"

"You know it, I'm way stronger now, hey do you think you could help me with something?" he asked.

Nodding his head kakashi replied, "Sure, what do you need". Showing him the piece of paper Naruto began

"Well see granny gave me this, and told me to go to this house, I've been looking for hours, and I still haven't found it," he said with a look of defeat on his face. A smile was evident on Kakashi's face even through his mask as he uttered his next words "look no further you're already here, welcome to Usamaki Manor".

Urgency filled Sakura's every step as she made her way down the hallway to the hokage's office. Flashing her clearance pass to the ANBU at the door, she barged into the room. The scene before her when she entered contrasted sharply with the disarray and destruction that she had been anticipating. Instead, a very placid looking Tsunade sat behind her desk, with Shizune at her side. "Hokage-sama, is everything alright?" inquired an embarrassed Sakura.

"Yes Sakura, everything is perfect," Tsunade answered reassuringly, looking a bit surprised at her apprentice's dismay.

Turning to leave, Sakura was stopped by a call from Tsunade . "Sakura, I have a mission for you. I want you to gather up your genin class as well as Gai's team, and go meet someone at this address," she instructed.

"Hai hokage-sama," Sakura said turning to leave once more.

"Sakura, there is one more thing--this is a special mission... You won't be receiving any pay, but I think that the result will be more than enough of a reward," she said, a smile gracing her features.

In an instant, in one single gesture, a simple smile Tsunade had spoken volumes. For the past years she had been in somewhat of a depression. On several occasions she had nearly lost all of the village allies and gone to war multiple times. Had it not been for the diplomatic skills of Shizune as well as support from Sand, Konoha would have fallen a long time ago. Whatever it was that had brought the smile back to her face, Sakura was determined to see it for herself, and so she set out to begin her task.

Sakura began her search with Ino whom she knew she would find at her family's flower shop. Ino and Sakura made their way to the bar-b-que restaurant to go and get Sikamaru and Choji. While they walked Sakura took the opportunity to explain the situation to Ino.

"Let me get this straight," Ino said after Sakura's explanation "The Hokage told you to gather us all up and go to some house to meet someone we know nothing about!" exclaimed Ino . At a loss for word Sakura did the only thing she could and nodded her head.

As luck would have it, she was spared the outrage of her platinum blonde companion by their arrival at the restaurant. It took quite some time to coax Choji away from his precious grill, but after some not too gentle threats from Sakura along with fluttering eyelashes from Ino, the were finally able to pry him away. Next the small group set out to find Kiba, Shino and Hinata.

Shino and Kiba were easy enough to find. They were both in the forest; Kiba and Akamaru were practicing his jutsu and Shino was collecting bugs. Hinata however, proved to be a slightly more elusive target-- neither of her teammates had seen her all day. Resigning to the fact that Hinata was nowhere to be found, the group of nin set their sights on finding Gia's team in the hopes that Neji might be able to tell them where to find her.

Upon locating Gai's team they were greeted first by Rock Lee. When he heard about their assignment he launched into a speech about the flames of youth, much to the chagrin of his companions. After about a half an hour of listening to Lee's speech Sakura managed to sneak away to speak to Neji.

"So, Neji you wouldn't happen to know where to find Hinata, would you? We've been looking for a while now and we can't seem to find her." she asked.

"I am fairly certain that she is at the Hyuuga compound, because she been doing most of her training independently the past couple of years," a thoughtful look crossed his face as he said "come to think of it... I have noticed that she has stepped it up over the past three months or so," he answered thoughtfully. After a little bit of deliberation the group made the decision that the Hyugga Manor would be the best place to find her.

Ten minutes later, after a short walk, they were being greeted by the ever stoic Hiashi Hyuuga. Moments like these always reminded Sakura of how much different Hinata was from the rest of her family. Where they were often cold and harsh she was warm and gentle. There were however some qualities that she did share with her family. Her eyes were the most obvious of all, those piercing pupilless eyes that could almost literally stare into your very soul. Another similarity was much more subtle, but it was something that Sakura had come to notice after spending time with observing the Hyugga family members that she had come in contact with.

Every Hyugga that she had ever met seemed to posses an unparalleled grace and poise. In Sakura's eyes Hinata optimized these traits. Her every movement always flowed perfectly from one to the next. When she walked it was as though she was gliding on air.

Hinata's delicate voice pulled Sakura from her musings, and she found herself staring into her pale eyes as she explained the details of their mission. They were all surprised to find the young heiress not only knew the location of the house, but it was also only a short walk from the Hyugga compound. Exiting the compound with Hinata in the lead the now fully assembled group of shinobi set out to complete their mission. True to Hinata's prediction, the group soon found themselves standing in front of two large wooden gates with an ornately carved swirl symbol on them. Coming to a stop before the doors Sakura moved forward to knock, but before she could the large gate slowly and soundlessly opened.

"I guess they were expecting us," she said.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The trio stepped through the gates, and was greeted by a sight that literally took their breath away. It was as if they had stepped into a forest of dreams—there were trees that could have been centuries old, towering over them all around. Lush plant life and flowers of all shades and hues covered the ground like a rainbow quilt and the sounds of birds as well as those of other wildlife filled the air. Following the beaten path through the forest, the group soon came across a massive clearing.

In the center of the clearing stood a mansion that seemed to be as much a part of the forest as any tree or flower. The mansion was massive, and easily dwarfed the main house in the Hyugga compound. Upon closer inspection the group noticed that along with the main building there were several smaller buildings, forming a complex.

"This place sure beats the hell out of the Hyugga compound," Kiba commented sarcastically.

A sharp glance from Neji stifled any further comment, although even he had to admit that the building was quite a sight to behold. The building was several stories tall; each story had large windows as well as sets of doors that opened out to beautiful balconies. The house was given an even more ethereal beauty by the light mist that seemed to caress the entire area. An awe-inspired silence had fallen over the group while they stood observing the elegant beauty of the mansion and the surrounding land. Once again, a smart remark from Kiba shattered the peaceful silence that had settled in the air.

"So, we going to stand here all day, or are we going to go meet this mystery man?" he called, making his way toward the large house. Standing in front of the house, Kiba suddenly lost all of his bravado, and he simply stared expectantly at Sakura. Rolling her eyes and letting out an exasperated sigh, she stepped forward and knocked firmly on the door. Several seconds passed until the door finally opened, but instead of a person they were greeted by a small fox.

"Good, you're here. The master is expecting you," it said. An earsplitting squeal filled the air when Sakura seized the small animal in a smothering embrace.

"It's so cute!" she cooed

"If you would kindly put me down, you may come in... the master is expecting you," it grumbled, struggling to free itself from Sakura's embrace. Disentangling itself from her, the small fox led the group into a large room with several chairs and a staircase on the far left side. The room was decorated with all manner of curious artifacts that gave it a feeling of elegance.

"Thanks for showing them in, you can go now if you like, Renzu," said a deep voice from the top of the stairs. Turning to face the owner of the voice, the kunoichi all found their faces painted with a light red blush. A young man of about sixteen stood at top of the stairs. He stood at 6'2" with spiky blonde hair and fascinating blue eyes; however, the young women all found their eyes drawn to his body. His physique was lean; his body rippled with muscles that were perfectly proportioned and sleek. He seemed to exude confidence in waves, which was personified itself by the smirk on his face as he gazed down at them with his sharp cerulean eyes.

"So Sakura, who's the hottie, and why don't I already know him?" whispered Ino.

"I don't know Ino," replied Sakura, still staring with a look of awe on her face

"Oh come on... are you telling me you don't remember who I am!?" he exclaimed.

"Nope, I would definitely remember if I met someone who looked like you." She said coyly.

"One of you has to remember me," he said pleadingly, his eyes scanning over the group, and an almost desperate look adorned his face, until his gaze came to rest on Hinata. It quickly went from pleading to warm recognition. "You remember me, don't you." he stated as a broad grin spread across his face.

"N-N-Naruto-kun is that you?" she stammered in a barely audible voice that still managed to communicate her shock. With a slight nod of his head, he easily confirmed her statement.

"No way--Naruto?!" gawked Ino in a display of obvious shock. At the sound of her voice his gazed shifted from Hinata and locked onto her with a look that was almost primal. Suddenly she felt a presence behind her. She felt her breath hitch in her throat as two strong hands settled on her waist.

"So Ino, do you still think I'm a... _hottie?_" he whispered in a sultry voice that she never knew he possessed. Breathing abruptly became all but impossible. "Because if you do... I would be happy to show you all that I'm capable of. I think you'll find that I'm quite _talented_, but you seem to be having trouble breathing so I think I'll leave you alone; however if you would like we can continue this some other time," he said in that same voice that sent shivers down her spine.

"_Is this really Naruto?"_ Sakura wondered, still frozen by shock and perhaps desire. She felt heat spread across her face as Naruto turned that same gaze that had shocked Ino into silence on her. For a moment, she feared—and yet hoped—he would do the same to her, but instead he flashed her his patented grin, and she breathed a sigh of both relief and disappointment.

Her body seemed to have a will of its own, without even realizing it she had thrown herself into his arms and grasped him in a tight embrace. "I've missed you, Naruto!" she exclaimed, letting out a sigh as a wave of contentment settled over her. "_This is nice_," she thought.

"I've missed you too Sakura-chan!" He replied returning her embrace after getting over the shock from her outburst.

"You've grown," she observed stepping back from the embrace.

"So have you—you're even more beautiful than I remember." he said, grinning broadly at the light blush that adorned her features. "Oh Sakura… you don't have to worry... I haven't forgotten. I will keep my promise!" he declared, his face suddenly becoming very serious.

"Of course you will, you never take back your word, that is your ninja way after all," she replied. When she didn't receive the exuberant response that she had been expecting, she looked up at him to see what the matter was. "Naruto are you…?" she began pausing to follow he gaze when she realized that he was staring at something across the room. When she followed the path of his eyes she found that they were rather intently focused on Hinata who at that moment seemed to be caught in his captivating gaze.

Slowly, as if locked in a trance, he made his way across the room to the young heiress. "Hello Hinata. It's good to see you again." he said, his voice once again dropping to almost a whisper—and yet lacking the sultry and provocative quality that it had taken on with Ino.

"I-I-It's good to see you too N-N-N-Naruto-kun," she replied, her eyes downcast and her delicate voice at a barely audible whisper. He gave a small chuckle at her shyness while he hooked his finger under her chin and tilted her head to look him in the eyes.

"Hinata, you are much too beautiful to hide your face! You should really look at people when you speak to them… besides I would like to look at you when I say thank you." he said smiling reassuringly at her. Her mind was suddenly a storm of frantic thoughts and feelings

"_He thinks I'm beautiful!!"_ she thought, struggling to collect her thoughts and form her next words "T-T-Thank me f-f-for what N-N-Naruto-kun?" she asked, her vision blurring slightly as she felt herself on the verge of fainting. By sheer force of will she managed to stay upright for no other reason than her desire to enjoy being close to Naruto.

"You were the only one who remembered me today, and even before that you have always been there for me, always rooting for me, even when I didn't notice, so for that I want to say thank you very much. I am forever indebted to you for that," he said smiling as he placed a hand on her cheek and staring deeply into her eyes. Hinata was already fighting valiantly to retain her composure when in such close quarters to the man of her dreams, but eventually it all proved to be too much for her. Her face suddenly became a brilliant shade of red, as she swayed on her feet slightly, until finally she fainted. Naruto's powerful arms swept her up as if she was no more than a feather, and with gentleness that none of them had ever seen in him before he carried her over to the couch, placing her down lightly and covering her with a blanket.

Sakura found herself filled with envy as she watched Naruto's interactions with Ino and Hinata, but at the same time she could understand his choice. Ino had grown to be a voluptuous and alluring young woman who was the object of affection for many men, both young and old, in Konoha. Hinata was something else entirely. Her grace and elegance were rivaled by no other and her beauty could only be described as angelic. Her long ebony tresses created the prefect contrast with her stunning white eyes, and though she chose to hide it, she had a figure that could make any woman jealous. In comparison to these two, Sakura felt quite ordinary even despite the fact that Naruto said that she had grown more beautiful.

"Naruto-kun, your flames of youth burn so brightly… I can no longer resist—I must challenge you, and test your skills!" shouted Lee with a flourish striking his patented 'nice guy' pose.

"No way, he owes me a rematch! Our fight before was a fluke!" Kiba protested vehemently.

"But Kiba-kun... I have not yet had the chance to fight him. It is only fair that I be the one to challenge him!"

"Now now, no need to fight. Lee is right: he and I have never had a chance to fight, and besides… I've always wanted to go against that speed of his," Naruto said, the feral look returning to his eyes at the thought of a challenge. "If you would excuse me, I'm gonna go get dressed…" he paused for a moment, turning around to capture Ino once again in his primal gaze. "Sorry to ruin your fun Ino," he growled his voice once again taking on its sultry and provocative quality before turning once again to make his way up the stairs "oh, and ero-senin, granny and all the rest of you, you can come out now. It's rude to eavesdrop." he said.

Seemingly out of thin air, a group of Nin composed of Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, Gia, Asuma, Kureniai and Anko appeared, much to the shock of their pupils. "Naruto, I have to say I'm quite impressed you've made two women swoon in just under half an hour—although I'm still better," Jiraiya boasted

"Yeah, whatever old man. Just ask Ino...she'll tell you that I'm quite skilled," he said painting Ino's face with a blush to rival that of Hinata.

"It would seem that Naruto is going to become quite the lady killer," Kurenai commented, a hint of amusement in her voice at Ino's state of mortification.

"My dear you have no idea," Jiriaya replied smiling amorously.

"He might be fun to play with," said Anko, licking her lips with a feral grin.

"I don't know about that, Anko," Naruto replied from the top of the stairs, now fully clothed in his heavy shirt, trench coat, gloves and boots.

"Don't be scared, kid. I don't bite… that is, unless you want me to," she said, leering at him as he tied his forehead protector securely on.

"Only if you let me bite back," he growled, returning her leer with one of his own. "Anyway, Lee, how about that match? Follow me, if you will." he said, turning to leave the room only to turn back and go over to Hinata kneeling down before her and speaking in that same gentle tone. "Hey Hinata, wake up," he whispered, placing a hand lightly on her cheek. After a moment her eyes fluttered open; a look of confusion gracing her delicate features.

"Naruto-kun?" she questioned as he offered her a hand to help her stand. Despite her luminescent blush, Hinata accepted his hand and stood to her feet. She was shaky for a moment until he steadied her.

"Lee and I were about to spar and I thought you might like to watch." he informed her, once she could stand on her own. Shaking her head, she flashed him a tiny smile before following them all outside. He led them into the forest behind the main building, through a garden filled with vibrantly colored flowers.

After making their way through the garden, they came to another building that was considerably smaller than the main building. The construction was fairly simple, lacking the elegance and majesty of the main house.

The interior of the complex however was an entirely different affair. There were enough weapons for an army, lining every wall from ceiling to floor. "So, Tenten... what do you think of the armory?" he asked, smiling broadly at her.

"This place is amazing; there are weapons here that I've never even seen before!" she exclaimed, seemingly everywhere at once, examining various items with an expertly critical eye.

"If you like this, then you would love the forge in the basement," he said, his grin broadening further while he watched Tenten's childlike wonder which he felt suited her quite well. "Remind me to show you that some other time, but right now I think we need to keep moving. Lee seems to be getting impatient," he said chuckling lightly and making his way toward another set of doors. Through the doors was a massive stadium; walls that stood at least fifty feet high and several feet thick were on all sides. The area was quite plain with no particular design, except for the swirl symbol on each wall.

"Whoa, this place is huge!" Kiba yelled, staring wide-eyed at the area.

"Yes, this will be the perfect place for our battle!" Lee exclaimed, a fire burning brightly in his eyes.

When she did not hear the boisterous resort from Naruto that she was expecting, Sakura turned to look at him to see what might have been the reason for his silence. When her eyes fell upon his visage, she was greeted by an expression that until that very moment she did not believe he was capable of. His face was perfectly confident and calm, but it was his eyes that enthralled her the most. They burned with a cold fire that was cool, calculating, and perfectly deadly. The look in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine and she honestly wasn't sure if it was from fear or excitement. Feeling her eyes on him, Naruto turned to her and flashed his patented foxy grin and in an instant that cold fire disappeared as if it had never been there at all. _"What was that look in his eyes just now?" _she wondered.

"Naruto-kun, let us begin!" Lee cried exuberantly, running to his place on the battlefield. As always, he was wired and full of energy, when he began an array of stretches in anticipation for his upcoming bout.

"Yeah, let's." his voice took on an icier tone as he put his hands in his pockets and calmly took his spot across from Lee on the battlefield. All was silent; the air was heavy with anticipation of the upcoming match between the two shinobi. Naruto had become the primary focus for most of the onlookers, and Neji was no exception. His Byakugan was active and scanning Naruto for even the slightest abnormality.

"_It doesn't make any sense! He knows all about Lee's speed, he even spoke about wanting to test himself against it so why would he put on all those heavy cloths?"_ he wondered, his acute eyes once again scanning him for anything different. When he found nothing out of place he began to get frustrated. "_He stands there so calmly and confidently as if he hasn't a care in the world! He hasn't even taken a stance... is he really that strong?_ He inquired mentally _"He must be either incredibly strong or incredibly foolish...perhaps both."_ he finally concluded after one final once over.

Sakura was also focused solely on Naruto, but her thoughts were focused in an entirely different direction. _"He has changed so much, before he would have just charged blindly. Now he just stands there so calm and composed,"_ she observed silently. Her thoughts continued to wander until she felt that familiar shiver run down her spine when her musing once again brought her to the mysterious look that once again burned in his eyes. "_I wonder what that look was in his eyes before. I've never seen anything like that before. I could call it killer intent but I didn't feel any coming from him, and the look disappeared as soon as he realized I was watching him. What are you hiding Naruto?" _

"Oh come on! Are you two gonna fight or stare at each other all day? I've seen more action watching Shino's bugs crawl across the floor!" Kiba proclaimed loudly, resulting in death stares from several pairs of eyes.

"As annoying as he is, Kiba is right. I think it's time we get started," Naruto stated, locking eyes with Lee and smirking slightly.

"I must agree. I am anxious to test your skills !" he replied, taking his fighting stance.

"After you," he said impassively, with an expectant look upon his face.

"As you wish." Lee replied before charging forward with a powerful right. The fist met nothing but air when Naruto leaned smoothly to the side to avoid it. Never one to be deterred, Lee quickly let loose a flurry of lefts and rights--none of which connected. Naruto seemed to dodge all of Lee's strikes with ease, but instead of being upset or discouraged, Lee only seemed to grow more excited. "You have grown strong, Naruto! You are keeping up with me quite well," he said, jumping back and taking his stance once more. "But I think it's time for round two," he stated before charging again. Once again he aimed a powerful punch at Naruto's head.

"Come on Lee, you're gonna have to try something a little more original than that," he smirked, preparing to dodge once again. However, this time, seconds before the blow connected, Lee flickered from existence.

"**Leaf Hurricane**!" he shouted as he delivered a flawless sweep kick which was once again dodged when Naruto rose both feet into the air _"Got you,"_ Lee thought, aiming another bone shattering kick at Naruto's jaw. He cried out "**Leaf whirlwind!". **Millimeters away from receiving a kick that would have broken his jaw, Naruto suddenly shifted his weight and flipped backwards, avoiding the blow.

"Man Lee, you're not messing around anymore, are you? If that had hit I'd have been getting acquainted with the wall! It's a good thing I've seen you fight before!" He said. He removed his hands from his pockets and allowed his hand to linger casually over his kunai holder. Once again Lee charged, but this time Naruto met him with a charge of his own. The two combatants met in the middle with an explosive display of tai-jutsu: punches, kicks, blocks, counters and parries were executed with lightening speed and a flawless precision.

"Look at them go!" Ino exclaimed with enthusiasm. "I can barely keep up!" she continued with admiration. The tide of the battle changed in an instant from a deadlocked competition to a seemingly one sided match when Lee landed a decisive blow to Naruto's chest. He followed up vigorously, putting Naruto on the defensive with an impressive display of power. The battle once again took a very sudden turn when Naruto caught another one of Lee's punches and held on with a strength that was quite unexpected, even in spite of his impressive build. With unbelievable force, he sent a powerful blow to Lee's mid section, but to everyone's surprise the blow never connected, because he pulled it inches before it did. Even more surprising was the fact that he simply released his hold on his opponent instead of delivering the final blow.

For a moment Lee swayed on his feet, leading the spectators to believe that the fight would continue. These notions were quickly halted when after several seconds of swaying on his feet, Lee's legs finally gave out and he pitched forward with a groan.

A helping hand from Naruto allowed him to stand again and limp over to their group of applauding comrades. "That was awesome, guys!" said Kiba who had changed his tune considerably once the match had started. Several other praises were issued forth from the other spectators. A question from Neji changed the focus of the conversations from praise and admiration to suspicion and curiosity.

"Naruto, what exactly was that technique you used just now?" he inquired critically.

"Well… It was sort of like your juuken. I sent a concentrated burst of chakra through his system. It caused his body to start to shut down because of a massive overload of foreign chakra," he explained, once again taking on his relaxed disposition.

"Impressive," was Neji's curt reply.

"Alright! I've had my match so why don't we go back inside and catch up a bit; it's been a long time!" Naruto exclaimed smiling broadly at his group of friends. The rest of the night was spent in the main building of the complex. Joking and laughter went on late into the night as the group relived old memories, and even made some new ones.

Sakura and Ino walked together through the streets of Konoha in relative silence, until Ino spoke up. "So, now that Naruto is back, things should get back to normal now... don't you think, Sakura," she said staring absently at the clear night sky.

"What are you talking about Ino, this is Naruto we're talking about, and no matter how much he's changed…," she paused for a moment and a light blush dusted both of their faces as they recalled different times during the day. "…No matter how much he's changed... with him there is no such thing as normal… and you know what—I think that's the way it should be," she said with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Chapter 4:

By the time he had finished getting ready, the sun was already up in the sky just as high as his spirits. Walking through the streets to Ichiraku, he found that the village had changed quite a bit, just as he had. There were several new shops not to mention the fact that Tsunade's face was now carved into the hokage monument. The last time he had walked through these streets, he had been met constantly with glares and harsh looks of irritation. But now, coy glances, fluttering eyelashes, and flirtatious giggles caught his attention, and of course in the spirit of fair play he returned them with just as much fervor.

He finally managed to arrive at Ichiraku, and took a seat on a stool. He rung the bell and eagerly awaited his favorite food.

Ayame made her way to the counter when she saw an attractive young man waiting. Something about him seemed familiar; he had a certain energy about him that reminded her of someone she'd known a while back. He had disappeared from the village a few years ago, and of course, this was not the same person—he was sitting calmly in his seat, smiling pleasantly. The person she knew would have been jumping up and down and screaming and causing more trouble than he was worth.

"Hey Ayame, long time no see! You've gotten even prettier over the past couple of years!" he said with a broad smile and a feeling of genuineness that she was not used to. Most of the young men who came in were arrogant, as if they were god's gift to humanity, and usually only complimented her as a means of getting a discount on their bill or into her pants.

A light blush dusted her face as she addressed him. "Um... thank you sir, but… do I know you?" she asked skeptically. She was sure she would have remembered such a polite young man.

The look that crossed his features made Ayame feel rather guilty, as did his downtrodden tone of voice when he spoke. "You don't know who I am either, do you?" he said disappointedly. "Am I really that forgettable?" he asked, his shoulders sagging slightly. His depressed demeanor changed in an instant, however. "Oh well, I'd like to order, please?!" he smiled broadly in a distinctly familiar fashion. A haze was suddenly lifted, and she suddenly knew who the attractive young man was that she was speaking to.

Jumping across the counter, she seized him in a warm and quite strong embrace. "Naruto, how are you!?" she exclaimed, tightening her hold on him even more. "Papa, Naruto is back!" she yelled. From the back of the shop the older man in charge of the ramen stand came out to the counter, a steaming bowl in each hand.

"Naruto! It's good to have my best costumer back!" he said, placing the two bowls down in front of him.

"It's good to see you too, old man," Naruto said cheerily, before applying himself to his ramen with gusto. "Man, this is great! I've traveled all around the world and I still couldn't find any place that had ramen even half as good as you guys make!" he said, forcing down a large mouthful of ramen. Polishing off the second bowl and letting out a loud sigh of appreciation, he raised a hand and in a voice reminiscent of his former self he exclaimed "I'll have two of everything, and keep them coming!" Several bowls later when the sun was high in the mid-day sky, Naruto said his goodbyes to the duo at his favorite establishment.

He left, and decided to make his way over to pay a visit to a certain platinum blonde.

The sound of the door chime of the flower shop awoke Ino from her sleepy stupor. "Hey there babe... how's it going?" he ask smirking as he appraised her figure when he came to a stop in front of her. Coming out from behind the counter, she ran her hands through her hair and fixed her most flirtatious smile on her face before addressing him.

"Hey Naruto what can I do for you today?" she asked.

"I can think of a few things if you're up to it," he said in a voice that was aimed at being pleasant but gave off a decidedly seductive air. He took a step closer to Ino, making her flustered. "I was just wondering, what time do you get off of work?" he asked with a smile on his face. Ino would have been fine normally, but something about Naruto being the one to flirt so well threw her off her usual balance. She self-consciously adjusted her shirt.

"Around 4:30... why do you ask?" she inquired, half with curiosity, half with nervousness.

"Well I would like to take you out tonight...if that would be okay with you." he replied easily.

"It would be my pleasure," she said, smiling coyly, and looking at him through her long lashes.

"Oh no, the pleasure is all mine," he said smiling mildly. "I'll pick you up around 6:30... I know you ladies take time to get ready, but don't change too much--you look awesome just the way you are," he said turning on his heel to exit the flower shop. "See you in a couple of hours," he called over his shoulder.

--

The streets of Konoha were filled with much hustle and bustle as the citizens went about their daily routine. Naruto found himself filled with a feeling of nostalgia. The sights and sounds were all very familiar and brought back all kinds of memories--some good, and some bad. He was so lost in his thought that he failed to notice a certain pink haired kunoichi until he collided with her when they both rounded the corner.

"Sakura-chan! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!" He said offering her a hand to get to her feet. Sakura was quite surprised with herself; even though she had been knocked down as a result of Naruto's lack of attention, she found that she had no desire to hit him, but instead she simply accepted his hand and allowed him to help her up. "So Sakura-chan, where are you off to?" he asked, smiling brightly at her. For a moment she was at a loss for words because in the back of her mind she still couldn't quite believe that he was really back.

"I'm not going anywhere in particular... I'm just kind of walking," she replied dazedly.

"Well would you like some company?" he asked with a hopeful yet expectant look in his eyes

"Yes...yes, I would, thanks; we haven't really gotten to talk since you got back."

"Great!" he said with a familiar excitement and energy that Sakura had grown to miss even though she would probably never admit it to him. They walked for hours and talked about all kinds of things, from the weather to old memories they had created just before he left. As she listened to Naruto recount many things, she noticed that many of the instances that he recounted involved her hitting him, and thinking back on herself she realized that in most of those instances she had hit him without just cause or for something totally out of his control. It was shocking when she began to feel bad. Back then, everyone had accepted it—it had been the team dynamic. But now that they had grown and lost Sasuke, did they really need to preserve that old dynamic? "Well Sakura-chan, I've got to go. I need to get ready," he said excitedly.

"Ready for what?" she asked curiously.

"I have a date… with Ino!" he said before running off in the direction of his house. Sakura now had a lot to think about. After spending the afternoon with Naruto she had really enjoyed his company and found his cheery disposition quite infectious. Wandering around the town she took the time to reflect on all the times they had spent together. Thinking back on all of their missions she stopped cold in her tracks when she finally allowed her self to see through the haze that was Sasuke Uchiha.

"_He has saved my life dozens of times and all I ever did was yell at him!_" she thought, suddenly feeling heavy with guilt. "_I_ _never even once said thank you!_" She realized with a feeling of sudden self hatred. In her mind she resolved to do everything in her power to make it up to him. With her resolution set in her mind she continued her walk home until she was struck by another earth shattering revelation. "He has a date with Ino!!" she yelled, causing several passers by to cast her confused glances.

Ino stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around herself, and made her way down the hall to her room. While she dressed she found that she was unusually nervous. It threw her off because she was no amateur when it came to dating. She had been on many dates before and prided herself on the opinion that there was no guy she couldn't handle. Before now the idea of going on a date with Naruto would have been a laughable notion, but now there was an air of mystery about him that somehow intrigued and enticed her. It might have been that feral look in his eyes the other day that still sent shivers down her spine.

She wasn't quite sure, but she was very certain of one thing: this was definitely going to be an interesting evening. A devious smirk spread across her features when she pulled an outfit from her closet that she was sure would leave him speechless in just the same way he had done to her days ago. She was barely able to suppress a giggle as she thought to herself "_Look out Naruto, here I come!" _

The sun was just beginning to go down when Naruto made his way to Ino's house and he couldn't help but smile as he mentally ran through all the things he had planned for tonight. His mental inventory was interrupted by the voice of his tenant in the back of his mind. "**I got to hand it to you kit, this little one would make quite the vixen,"** he said letting out several deep rumbles that Naruto assumed were the equivalent of a lecherous chuckle.

"_Shut up you stupid fox, you know it's not like that!_" he shot back mentally

"**Oh really, with the way your hands were all over her, you could have fooled me,"**

"_Why don't you just go back to your little corner and be quiet." _He thought irritably.

"**All I'm saying is you should give it a chance. Who knows what kind of fun you could have with her. Or maybe you just don't want to because you've got your eye on that other girl,"** he rumbled

"_Shut up we're here,"_ he said as he ascended the steps to Ino's front door

"**Okay kit I'll leave you alone for now, but I'll be back because you know I'm never far away,"** he rumbled one more time before finally receding to the furthest reaches of Naruto's mind. Knocking firmly on the door, he stood for a moment before it opened and he was greeted by an attractive older woman.

"You must be that boy that Ino has been raving about for the past two days," she said smiling brightly and ushering him inside the house. "I can see why... you're quite a looker," she said with the same bright smile still on her face. Naruto fought back a grimace. This was just a_ little_ awkward, but at least now he knew where Ino got that fierce flirtatiousness._ "_You can sit down and wait while Ino finishes getting ready. Would you like any thing while you wait?" she asked once he had taken a seat.

"**I'd like a few hours alone with you,**" the kyubi said lecherously.

Although he showed no outward reaction, Naruto was mentally fuming and berated his tenant with a slew of insults_. "You damn fox I thought I told you to go the hell away! While I'm out tonight I don't want to hear a damn thing out of you unless it is of dire importance, are we clear?!" _

"**Geez kit I was just having a little fun. Humans these days, no respect for superior beings… Oh and don't think you're gonna get away with ordering me around," **he said before sinking away again

"No thank you ma'am," he said politely.

"You must be quite a guy. It's been a long time since I've seen her excited about a date, and believe me, she is dressed to kill," she said with a look of pride on her face.

"Well I think she'll find that I'm a little harder to kill than most guys," he said, the feral glint returning to his eyes.

"Oh that must be the look she was talking about. Now I understand why she was so excited, a look like that can get anyone jazzed!" she said with a somewhat creepy giggle.

"Mother, are you bothering Naruto? I wouldn't want to scare him off before we even get to go out!" she said from the top of the stairs. His eyes moved to the top of the stairs when he heard the sound of Ino's voice. When his eyes finally fell on her he found he was slack jawed with awe at the young vision of beauty. She was clad in a formfitting purple dress that hugged her curves perfectly. The neckline of the dress was a v-neck that showed just enough to entice. The dress was slightly short, long enough to be decent but just short enough to show off her stunning long legs.

She descended the stairs with a confident air, because she knew without a doubt that she had Naruto's undivided attention, and she had every intention of exploiting that. "What do you think?" She asked with a turn and a slight flourish.

"You look stunning," he said genuinely. Ino paused for a moment to examine his attire and she was pleasantly surprised to see not a hint of orange. Instead he wore a button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Crimson flames ran along the tail of the shirt and the kanji for kitsune adorned the back of the shirt in the same blood red hue. His pants and shoes were also black. While she appraised his form she concluded that his choice in apparel suited him quite well. The dark colors of his clothes only served to accent his golden hair and the brilliant blue of his eyes as well as giving him an air of mystery that seemed to attract her.

The evening was still very young when they made their way though the streets. Ino was rather interested to see what Naruto had in store for the evening. He had always been a very inventive person and that unpredictability had her rather excited, now that it was obvious he would be using it for more suitable purposes, and _not_ petty mischief. "So Naruto...what are we doing this evening?" she asked.

"Well I thought we'd go get something to eat and then go from there." he replied loftily.

_'Oh great... he's probably gonna take me to a ramen stand or something!' _she thought despite the sweet smile on her face.

He seemed to read her thoughts when he smiled and said, "Don't worry—it's not ramen."

The rest of their walk passed with idle chatter as Ino asked several questions in hopes of getting to know this new, enticing Naruto. Several minutes later they came to a stop in front of a very expensive and nice looking restaurant.

"Naruto it's incredible, but can you afford this?!" she asked incredulously.

"Don't worry about it! I got it covered, but if you would rather we can go get ramen instead..." he said. Shaking her head vigorously in protest she pulled his chuckling form into the restaurant. Once inside and seated they talked for a while comfortably, back and forth until a very pretty young woman came to take their order. "Naruto-kun! How are you doing tonight!!" she asked smiling brightly at him "What can I get you and your lady friend tonight?"

"Hey there Yuzuri, I'm doing good…" he said smiling brightly in return. Looking quickly at Ino, he said "Oh, where are my manners? This beautiful young lady is my companion for the evening. Ino, this is Yuzuri and Yuzuri, this is Ino!"

"It's very nice to meet you. Are you one of Naruto-kun's ninja friends? He has told me a lot about you all!" Yuzuri said excitedly

"Yes, I am one of his friends," Ino answered giving her a quick once over "So, Naruto has told you about me, but I don't know a thing about you. How do you know him?"

A dreamy look appeared on her face as she seemed to get lost in her thoughts. "Naruto-kun is my hero; he saved my life!"

"Really, did he now?"

"Yes, it was actually just yesterday, I was out shopping for groceries when I was kidnapped by a group of men. They took me to an abandoned building and tied me up. It was really scary! I don't even want to think about what might have happened. Naruto-kun just appeared out of nowhere, beat them all up, and saved me!" she said excitedly. Ino watched her with amusement. She was full of energy, gesturing enthusiastically as she told her story. "Oh my, I got so excited I totally forgot to take your orders!" she said bowing and apologizing frantically while hurriedly taking their orders.

The next several hours passed very pleasantly. Ino and Naruto talked between themselves about all kinds of things while they ate. Spending this time with him helped Ino realize how much he had really changed. Physically he had changed considerably; he had lost the baby fat in his face, which gave him a look of maturity that somewhat belied his energetic personality. In addition he was also considerably taller, and sported quite a muscular build. The more subtle changes were the ones that impressed her the most. Contrary to the Naruto that she knew he had not once yelled as was so common for him when they were younger. He still seemed to have that unwavering confidence from their younger days but he displayed it in a much more reserved fashion. Most important to Ino was the way he was treating her this evening. She had been on many dates with many men, but most of them had treated her as if she was just another conquest, but with him it was different—he treated her with respect and caring that she did not often receive on other dates.

The sun was nearly all gone by the time the duo left the restaurant, and Ino was rather enjoying herself. Usually on all her dates Ino did most of the talking, but in this particular instance she did not feel the need to talk at all. The silence between them was comfortable and she was enjoying just walking with him. He suddenly stopped, and she really wasn't sure why. "Naruto, what's the matter?" she asked.

"Nothing, but I almost forgot! If we don't hurry we're gonna miss it!"

"Miss what?"

"It's a surprise. Here, just get on my back—it will be faster!"

"I'm a ninja too you know... I can run on my own!" she said indignantly

"Nonsense! What kind of gentleman would I be if I let you run and ruin your dress, and besides how would you run with your eyes closed?" he queried amusedly before bending down so that she could get on his back. In a show of mock protest she sighed deeply before climbing on. Once she was situated he stood and tightened his grip. "Hold on tight! And no peeking!" he said before taking off.

Sitting on his back with her eyes closed gave Ino time to reflect, and she found that she rather enjoyed this mode of travel. The feel of the wind on her face and through her hair refreshed and invigorated her. She was also relishing in the feeling of the power and grace of his body. With each leap his muscles tensed and relaxed to hold them in the air as long as possible. The strong grip of his hands on her thighs stirred a fire within her and she found her thoughts beginning to go down a less innocent path. Before her train of thought could proceed much further, his feet touched the ground and the ride was over, much too soon for her liking.

He set her on her feet gently, put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Okay... you can open your eyes." At his instruction her eyes fluttered open and the sight left her speechless. They stood on a hill overlooking a beautiful clearing like nothing she had ever seen before. A waterfall cascaded down into a river that ran through the center of the clearing and the reflection of the moonlight on the water made it look like a river of crystal. On both sides of the river were flowers of all kinds painting the ground like a canvas.

"Naruto, it's so beautiful!"

"You haven't seen anything yet..."

"What do you mean?"

"Just watch, you'll see," he said knowingly as he laid out a blanket on the ground and gestured her to relax. They sat together in comfortable silence for a while until Ino began to drift off to sleep. It could have been minutes or maybe hours, she wasn't really sure, but the sound of Naruto's voice pulled her gently from slumber. "Ino, wake up, you're gonna miss it!" he whispered shaking her lightly until she began to stir. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes she looked at Naruto with questioning eyes. "Look," he said pointing into the clearing below. Groggily rubbing sleep from her eyes she turned in the indicated direction. At first she didn't notice anything different, but as she continued to watch she was astonished by the spectacle taking place before her eyes. Hundreds and hundreds of twinkling fireflies rose from the ground and began to dance around them. She opened her mouth to comment on the beauty of scene before her, but was silenced by a finger to her lips. Taking this as a cue to continue watching, she silenced herself and settled down to enjoy the scene.

An awe inspiring sight took place before her eyes when all of the dancing fireflies took refuge in the field of bellflowers giving it the appearance of hundreds of technicolor stars. The majestic beauty of sight before her moved Ino nearly to tears. For a while she could do nothing but stare at Naruto in silence; she had not even thought that he would ever be able to appreciate something as beautiful as this until she remembered that this was no longer the same man that she had known those years ago. "Naruto this place is incredible!" she said ecstatically. "Naruto I-I-I've been on a lot of dates, but it has been a very long time since I have been on a date like this!"

"Ino I have a confession to make… when I asked you on this date it was to teach you something. You deserve to be treated this way all the time, and I am not the only one willing to do it. There is someone very close to you that cares about you deeply and if you would give him a chance he would treat you like a queen, just like you deserve," he said taking her hands in his.

"Who is it?"

"Ino, I can't tell you who it is. You need to figure it out for yourself. Don't worry, it's shinobi training 101—always look underneath the underneath. If you do that then you'll realize that he's closer than you think." he said with a knowing smile. Curiosity was written plainly on her face, but he quickly hushed her before she could make any further comment. In minutes they were on their way through the nighttime forest, and for the umpteenth that night Ino found herself amazed at the beauty of the nature that Naruto had shown her. The forest reminded her of something out of a dream, and she could do nothing more than relax and enjoy the ride.

Even though he was moving at a notably slower pace, they were back in the village fairly quickly. Just when she thought that the night could not possibly get any better, Ino was once again surprised. They were at her front door when Naruto stopped her. "I have one more thing I want to give you before you go," he said when he presented her with a flower like none she had ever seen before. The flower shone with a light all its own illuminating the night, but that was not the most amazing thing about the flower; it shone in every color of the rainbow all at once flowing from one color to the next like the graceful flow of a river. "This is for you," he said placing it in her hands.

"Thank you so much Naruto, for everything!"

"It was my pleasure… Oh and Ino, I'm having a house warming party tomorrow--would you mind telling everyone for me?" he asked, stepping back into the shadows. "See you tomorrow," he said, his voice reaching her like a whisper on the wind as he faded into the night


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next morning Naruto awoke in a rather sour mood after a night of less than innocent dreams involving several women from the village. "**So kit, how did you like my little show last night?"** the Kyubi chuckled.

"Unlike you and ero-senin I am not a pervert!" he said indignantly.

"**Kit-- you can't lie to me. I can read your mind, remember?"**

"That doesn't mean you have the right to try to corrupt me!"

"**So you aren't denying that you enjoyed it, huh?" **he taunted. Finding himself without a response, Naruto simply huffed and got out of bed to begin his day. For a while he shuffled about sleepily, until a knock on his door brought him out of his fog, much to his displeasure.

"Morning, kid," said a leering Anko.

"Oh I'm sorry! Let me get dressed," Naruto said quickly, already moving to his bedroom to change.

"No need to get dressed on my account... I'm rather enjoying the view." she said, winking playfully. "Anyway, I just came to tell you that the Hokage wants to see you this afternoon around two o clock, so don't be late!...Oh and kid-- come see me some time... I'll show you a good time," she said with a smile. "See ya around!"

Naruto couldn't help but grin as he watched her retreating form. Despite her somewhat creepy disposition, he could tell that she was a lot like him: fun loving and full of energy.... all be it in a _slightly_ more malicious way. As he watched her, he decided she would make a very good friend.

--

It had been a few hours since Anko's visit and Naruto was now wandering the streets of Konoha in search of something to do. As he made his way to the market he caught sight of Hinata carrying a rather large load of groceries and having a rather difficult time.

"Hey Hinata, what's up? Do you want some help with those?" he asked, running up to her.

"Oh, hello Naruto-kun no thank you I'm alright on my own I wouldn't want to be a burden!" she said, mumbling and causing her words to run together. She moved to continue on her way. Unfortunately in her haste she lost her balance, thanks to her load. Naruto moved quickly to catch her before she lost her footing and her burden.

"You're not a burden; I want to help!" he said, grabbing the larger bags from her and walking in the direction of the Hyugga compound. For a moment she did not move until Naruto called out to her to follow. The duo walked together as Naruto talked casually and made light conversation with Hinata.

"Um N-Naruto-kun thank you for your help," Hinata said after a few minutes.

"It's no big deal! I already told you I wanted to help!" Naruto turned around backwards and smiled at her. His smiling face turned sour when he was hit in the back of his head with a water balloon. "Konohamaru get out here now!" He snapped.

"Sorry about that boss.... I wasn't aiming at you!" Konohamaru said, scratching his head sheepishly. His grin quickly disappeared when he was struck in the head by a swift fist from Naruto. "Ow what was that for?! I told you I wasn't aiming at you!" the young man exclaimed while rubbing his head indignantly.

"Oh yeah, and who exactly were you aiming at?" he demanded.

"I was aiming at the Hyuga behind you!"

"Why were you trying to hit Hinata? What did she do to you?"

"It wasn't her it was her, it was her sister! She says that all Hyuga are superior to every other ninja in the village and that someone as weak as me doesn't even deserve to be a ninja!" Konohamaru was vehement and gesturing profusely as he told his tale.

"Okay, so what does that have to do with Hinata?"

"Well she's a Hyuga too so I figure that she must be a jerk too just like all the others!"

Naruto's somewhat bemused expression suddenly turned very serious and he seized Konohamaru by the front of his shirt and lifted him several inches off the ground. "Konohamaru I taught you better than that! You should never pass judgment on a person before you take the time to get to know them! Hinata is the kindest, most compassionate, caring person you will ever meet; you apologize right now!" Naruto demanded, releasing his hold on the front of the younger Nin's shirt.

"I'm sorry for trying to hit you with that water balloon; my name is Konohamaru. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too. My name is Hinata. I would like to apologize for my sister's rudeness," she said smiling softly.

"You were right boss, she is really nice," stepping closer to Naruto he whispered "So boss is she your new girlfriend? If she is, you picked a good one! She's way nicer and prettier than Sakura-chan," Konohamaru grinned mischeivously, and turning down the road, he left a mildly blushing Naruto and confused Hinata in his wake.

The rest of their trip passed in silence and the duo soon found themselves standing in front of the Hyuga compound.

Despite several odd looks from more than a few members of her family they eventually made their way to the main house of the compound. "You can put the groceries on the table, Naruto-kun... someone will come and get them," she said, placing her own load on the table. They talked comfortably for a while until they heard the voice of none other than Hanabi Hyuga.

"Sister who is this, is he a new servant?"

"No Hanabi this is Naruto. He is a friend of mine and a fellow ninja who happens to be very strong," replied Hinata.

Walking up to him and looking him over as if to size him up, Hanabi gave a dismissive snort before saying "he doesn't look like anything much,"

"Hey kid, how is it going? Nice to meet you," he said smiling brightly at the young girl.

"How dare you address me in such a casual fashion! You should bow when you speak to your superiors!" the young girl said arrogantly. As soon as the words left her mouth she was brought to her knees by the oppressive force of his chakra.

"Listen kid... your name doesn't make you anymore superior than anyone else," he said. Hanabi soon realized that she was once again able to stand and rose to her feet once again while keeping her head down to avoid looking Naruto in the eyes. Her attempts were soon foiled when he crouched down to be at eye level with her. "Besides, how are you going to make any friends if you're mean all the time?" he asked smiling.

"Father says that friends are for the weak," she replied in an almost robotic tone.

A wave of pity rushed over him when he heard the young heiresses answer.

"So without friends, who are you going to depend on when you need help?"

"Father also said that those who depend on others are weak as well," she replied once more in the same robotic tone.

For a moment Naruto did not speak, but instead his eyes roamed the room as if searching for something. After several seconds his eyes finally came to rest on a container full of chopsticks. Breaking a pair apart he handed one to Hanabi and instructed her to break it in two. She regarded him questioningly for a moment before shrugging and snapping it in her hands. He said nothing but simply continued to smile as he reached into the container and pulled out a handful. "Now try breaking all of these at once with out using any chakra," he said. She took the chopsticks from his hand and attempted to break them in the same fashion as the hand the first. She soon found that was not the case; try as she might she could not break them.

"It is impossible," she said trying to mask her frustration under the emotionless mask that all Hyuga seemed to wear.

"You see the single chopstick broke easily with very little effort, but all of them together would not break. It is the same with people--it is easy to overwhelm one man, but together friends and loved ones can depend on each other and share their strength and support each other to overcome any obstacle! You see, having friends who you can depend on doesn't make you weaker... it only makes you stronger!" he said, his smile getting even bigger.

"But I don't have any friends," she said dejectedly

"Sure you do, Hinata is your friend, isn't that right Hinata?"

"She's not my friend she's my sister," Hanabi interjected sourly.

"Exactly! Family make the best kind of friend, but I'll tell you what... since you need more friends, and I'm always looking for new ones I will be your first non family friend! What do you say?"

"Really?" she asked still seeming unsure.

"Yup,"

"Okay!" she replied jubilantly as her previously forlorn was replaced by an expression of childlike joy that had been absent from her face for a very long time.

"Great, but you have to promise that you will be nice to people from now on so that you can make even more friends." The young girl before him nodded, the bight smile on her face never waning. "Well I have to go now. The Hokage wants to see me," he said. The sisters escorted him to the door, and he stepped through the door before stopping and turning around. "Oh wait one more thing, Hanabi as your new friend, I have a task for you. I want you to go out right now and try to make as many new friends as possible!" he said. He received a nod of confirmation from Hanabi before turning and waking out the door and down the road toward the Hokage tower.

"He's nice, I see why you love him so much." she said before running off happily on a quest to make new friends and leaving a tomato read Hinata to stand alone in silence.

--

Tsunade had adopted an unusually businesslike disposition when Jiraiya entered her office. Fixing him with a hard stare, she directed him to sit down in the chair across the desk. She set a bottle of sake between them. "Well, how did it go? Did he make any significant progress?"

"He has progressed more than we could have ever expected. Once outside the village it was like he was another person. His mask of false cheerfulness was dropped, and he proved how much he can accomplish when he's really focused. The kid is like a jutsu sponge. He specializes in nin-jutsu and tai-jutsu. His gen-jutsu is horrible, but like I said, he has improved more than we could have ever hoped." Jiraiya said, taking a long swallow of sake.

"Okay, sounds great, but what about the specifics?"

"Yes... I was getting to that," he said, pausing for a moment to take another sip of sake. "He has mastered over a thousand justu and created several of his own. In addition, he has completely mastered the Rasengan, and has created several of his own variations using his natural creativity and nature manipulation. The kid has also taken a liking to sealing-jutsu and he seems to be quite the natural," he said, a nostalgic smile crossing his features.

"It makes sense considering who his father was, but speaking of seals-- what's the status on his seal and his tenant?"

"I was wondering when you would get to that." Jiraiya said with a mysterious smirk. "That is where things get interesting. He's accelerated his fusion with the Kyubi!" he said, his face suddenly becoming stone serious.

"What!? Is he okay? Has he changed at all? What about the fox? Has it taken control lately!?" Tsunade implored, her face quickly going from calm and composed to frantic and worried.

Jiraiya couldn't help but smile at Tsunade's display of affection and concern for his young charge. He had spent the better part of two and a half years with Naruto, and during that time he had come to see just how neglected the young man was in terms of affection. "Calm down, Tsunade, he's fine. Yes, he has had a few subtle physical changes. Nothing too drastic. The majority of his changes were internal; all of his senses are enhanced to a level that far surpasses human limitations... even those of a ninja. Something else that's interesting, which I'm not sure you've had the chance to see for yourself, is that his physical strength is on a level that equals if not surpasses your own, and he does it all without the aid of chakra."

"How is that possible?" She asked in awe.

"It's something he picked up from some monks during our travels."

"Is there anything else about the seal I should know? Is it still functioning properly?"

"From what I've learned, the seal was actually designed to slowly fuse his chakra with the fox's.... he just sped up the process."

"Why would he want to do that?" she inquired.

"To be honest, I really don't know. You would be better off asking him. He should be here soon." Jiraiya said, shrugging. Tsunade nodded, absorbing all of the shocking information. Finally, she leaned forward again.

"So let's cut to the chase... how strong is he, _really_?"

"I couldn't tell you. I wasn't with him all the time for the first year. And about nine months I oversaw his training personally, but the rest of that time he spent training with the monks, other masters, and I suspect the fox as well, so I really couldn't tell you accurately how strong he's become. I can say, however, that he would have made his old man proud." He replied, his eyes revealing sadness.

"Fine then. We'll just have to wait for him to arrive to hear all the details and assess his skills." she finalized, finishing off the last of the bottle of sake. Just as she placed down her cup, there was a knock the door and Naruto entered the room, seemingly unfazed by the two hard stares directed at him.

"You wanted to see me, granny?" he asked, strolling up to her desk

"Your eyes... they're different." Tsunade was referring to his irises that were now slits much the same way as when he was under the influence of his tenant; the only difference being that they still retained their cerulean hue.

"I'm sure that ero-senin has already told you about my deal with the fur ball." he said, slouching casually before her. Without warning she stood up and slammed her hands down on her desk, causing several stacks of paper to fall and the empty sake bottle to shatter on the floor.

"What were you thinking!? Do you have any idea of the implications of what you've done?! You could have possibly handed the controls over to the fox! How do you know that it won't just take control of you or worse just escape all together? If it were to take control or escape then all of the people that died and gave their lives to stop the fox would all have been in vain! What would the fourth think?!" she screamed, grabbing him by the front of his coat and pulling him down to eye level.

When she looked into his eyes she was somewhat taken aback by the hardness there. At first look she had seen it there, but it was only a slight glimmer. Now, however, she was seeing it full force, and all though she would never admit it, the sight of his eyes unnerved her. He pried her hands from his coat, even despite her vice grip, and straightened his clothes before addressing her.

"You should know better than anyone that there is no way I would have done this if I thought I would be putting this village in danger. After all I am going to be Hokage some day-- it's my job to protect this village!" He declared with conviction.

Tsunade smiled slightly before speaking. "Yeah I guess you're right. Even _you_ wouldn't be blockheaded enough to do something like this without making sure you wouldn't be a danger to the village. Sorry for overreacting," she said, bowing slightly.

"Don't worry about it granny, to be honest, if you had been calm I would have been worried that something was wrong with you!" The blond plastered on a grin.

"Whatever, now that we have that taken care of, I need details on this fusion with the fox. What are the side affects, and what is the status of the seal?" she asked, folding her hands on the desk in front of her and recapturing her businesslike attitude.

"Well first for the physical changes, the most obvious one being my eyes. They are slit like this permanently. They stay this way regardless of whether I'm using the fox's chakra or not. My canines are also sharper than a normal person's would be." he said before opening his mouth to show that they were indeed longer and sharper than an average person's teeth. "Last but not least are the claws," he said, holding up one of his gloved hands. At first Tsunade noticed nothing different, but then she watched his fingernails lengthen and sharpen into deadly looking claws.

She stared at him for a moment before forming a seal and saying "kai."

"What was that for?"

"Just making sure you weren't hiding any ears or tails. But anyway, you said those were just the physical changes. What other kind of changes are there?" she demanded

Instead of answering this time, he shook his head and waved his finger at her, saying, "Come on now granny! I can't reveal all my secrets!"

For a moment Tsunade frowned in frustration, but her frown quickly turned to a devious smile. "Fine, then. If you won't tell me then we'll just have to test your skills. Kakashi, get in here!" she yelled in quite an undignified manner.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?" The teacher asked, appearing in the room in a puff of smoke.

"Naruto has just recently gotten back from training, and I need to test him to see how strong he's gotten."

"Ah, of course! This should be fun; I've been pretty curious myself." he said, before disappearing in the same fashion as when he arrived.

--

It was around mid-day when Kakashi and Naruto squared off at training ground seven. "So, Naruto... learn anything new while you were away?" Kakashi asked, standing with his hands in his pockets.

"You bet!" he replied, determination burning in his eyes already.

"Good, I look forward to it."

"Me too, I've been waiting for the chance to fight a sharingan user!" he exclaimed when for a moment he lost his calm exterior and allowed his inner child to show.

"Well then, let's begin, shall we?" he said, moving to uncover his sharingan eye. Before he got the chance however, Naruto exploded towards him with speed that caught him slightly off guard. Instinctively he dodged the punch aimed at his head and swung his own punch at Nauto's face with one hand while uncovering his sharingan with the other. He was surprised yet again when instead of moving away from him, Naruto grabbed on and held tightly. Finally able to uncover his sharingan, he focused his eye on the young man holding his arm in an iron grip. His eyes widened for a moment before he uttered a single word: "crap!" and in an instant the clone of Naruto exploded in a spectacular flash of chakra. The flash produced was so intense that it temporarily blinded both of the on lookers. The light faded and only revealed one combatant where there were once two. Outward appearances showed calm and relaxed Kakashi but in reality, that was anything but the case. In truth he was racking all of his senses in order to find Naruto. The sound of swirling wind quickly ended his search.

"Looking for me Kakashi-sensei?!" exclaimed Naruto from behind him with a Rasengan swirling in his outstretched palm. Seconds before the attack would have connected, he jumped back and Rasengan was instead driven into the ground. Large chunks of debris and dust were strewn everywhere when the attack laid waste to the ground with explosive force, leaving behind a crater that was at least thirty feet wide and several feet deep. Dust still filled the air when the two shinobi faced each other again.

"So, what did you do to my sharingan?" Kakashi asked with genuine curiosity

"You like it, Kakashi-sensei? It's the exploding clone jutsu, but I modified it so instead of a puff of smoke there is a bright flash of chakra. Normally it just provides cover, but when used at close range on someone with something like the sharingan or byyakugan it temporarily overloads it, making it useless! In your case that means I can really cut loose without having to worry about being copied!" With those words he once again exploded toward Kakashi. It was much the same as last time he moved to block the oncoming blow, but this time he found that it was considerably more powerful.

"_Interesting, he was holding back before,"_ The copy nin observed, jumping back to put some distance between them.

"Kakashi, no holding back! I need an accurate measurement of his skills!" yelled Tsunade from the sidelines. Kakashi nodded, acknowledging Tsunade, and then turned to Naruto, his eyes crinkled, showing he was grinning.

"So Naruto, what do you say we cut the warm-up and have a little fun?"

"Okay then, let's wreck!" he said before they flickered from existence and clashed with enough force to cause a sonic boom. Thunderous explosions split the air with each clash of the two shinobi. The battle was so loud in fact that it attracted the attention of several of the anbu and other ninja in the village and after a while they had attracted quite the crowd, including several clan heads, as well as the entire village counsel.

The battle raged on with tremendous force, and all of the spectators found themselves shocked into awestruck silence. Kakashi met Naruto in the middle of their battlefield with a sense of renewed vigor. When he first began this fight he had a sense of nonchalant ease, but now he was taking this fight quite seriously. From what he had seen so far, he found himself intrigued to see what else his former student had in store.

After a few minutes he made the decision to end this fight as soon as possible because he knew that if this fight continued like this then he would eventually be outlasted in terms of chakra capacity and stamina. With this resolution set firmly in mind he smeared some blood on his hand from a wound that up until that very moment he was not even aware that he had. "Summon!" he exclaimed slamming his hand into the ground. He was rewarded with a cloud of white smoke and the sound of several growling dogs. "Earth style-**fang pursuit jutsu**!" he said. At the sound of his bellowed command, several snarling blurs leapt from the smoke toward Naruto.

The Ninja hounds attacked with a ferocity that for most would have been overwhelming. Despite this, Naruto fought the hounds with an impressive amount of skill; keeping the hounds at bay with the same tenacity and exuberance that had earned him the title of number one hyperactive ninja. Even so, he was not able to keep the beasts away forever, and soon found he was locked firmly in the hold of the hounds. Once Naruto was firmly ensnared by the dogs, Kakashi charged forward to deliver the finishing blow, all the while ignoring the nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He was only second from ending the fight when at the last moment Naruto looked up with a smirk on his face before uttering a single word.

"Boom!" he whispered. As soon as the word left his lips he exploded in a puff of very familiar white smoke. The only thing that saved Kakashi from being caught in the blast was his own reflexes and the fact that the clone had spoken just before he detonated.

"Well, I must say I am quite impressed with that trick. If you had wanted to, you could have really done some damage there!"

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei, but if you don't mind, I kind of need to wrap this up. I have someplace I need to be!" he exclaimed as a wide grin began to spread across his face.

"Sure kid, but what do you say we go out with a bang?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth!"

With that declaration the duo once again separated; however this time every single person there knew that this was for the last time. Silence was palpable as they waited with baited breath as the two prepared their final attacks. The chirping of birds was the first to fill the air only to be swiftly followed by the distinct swirling of wind. Both of these sounds started relatively soft, but both of them increased until they became a dull roar. The sound was deafening; the only things that could be heard were the cries of the two shinobi.

"Chidori!"

"Rasengan!" The two techniques met with a force that put all of the other clashes to shame. The flash of light produced once again blinded all of the spectators. When they were all able to see again, they found a truly extraordinary sight. Both Kakashi and Naruto stood in a crater that was at least seventy-five feet wide and more than five feet deep, but that was not the most striking feature. The ground where they now stood that was once covered in lush green grass was now smooth black glass. In classic Naruto style, he casually turned and walked out of the crater. "Well Kakashi-sensei, it was real, but like I said: I've got places to be."

Kakashi chuckled and then turned to the awestruck Hokage.

"So Tsunade-sama, what do you think?"

"I'll say one thing for him, he's got style!" She replied with a smirk as she watched his retreating form.


End file.
